The 2011 Phillies record stands at 71-39, best in the Major Leagues (3 games ahead of next team and 32 games over .500). They were the first team to post 70 wins on the season (did so in their 109th game) and they did it with style. Philadelphia finished off a three game sweep of the Colorado Rockies (at hitter-friendly Coors Field no less) with a tidy 8-6 victory following a 5-0 win in Game 2....

Bard's Scoreless Inning Streak Comes To An End
Before Monday's game against the Cleveland Indians, Terry Francona spoke about Daniel Bard's impressive scoreless streak of 25 games, spanning 26 1/3 innings. He acknowledged the inevitable saying, “he’s going to give up a run at some point.” Little did he know it would happen hours later.
Yes, his amazing streak finally came to an end in t...

I don't believe there is such a thing as a must win game in July, but the Pirates were faced in as close to that situation as you can get on Sunday afternoon. After losing the first two games of their weekend series against the Cardinals, the Pirates found a way to win Sunday's game against the Cardinals in extra innings. With the Pirates win and the Brewers lost, there is now a three-way t...

This week I'm joined by Atlanta Braves writer John Morgo to talk a little Phillies/Braves baseball! Check out the podcast below.
http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/audioPop.jsp?episodeId=510576&cmd=apop

Nobody likes blaming the umpire for blowing a game… but what happens when a blown call affects two games, or three… or when poor decisions become bad habits? Umpires have taken a lot of abuse over the years from managers, players, fans and even for a period in the 1980s – from Morganna the Kissing Bandit! Desultory fans, irate ballplayers and irascible managers have thrown every possi...

In this golden era of Phillies baseball, starting pitching has taken precedence. If Philadelphia management can somehow find a way to extend Cole Hamels after 2012, the team will have Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Hamels together for at least another couple of years.
Of course, as of right now, Halladay and Lee will not be ranked as high individually in Phillies lore simply because they hav...

It seems like just yesterday I was typing up my preseason predictions for the upcoming baseball season. It's hard to believe that we are already at the halfway point. Who says that the baseball season is too long? As per usual with baseball, this season is full of unpredictability and surprises. We've seen two no-hitters within one week to make this the year of the pitcher 2.0, a home ...

The MLB Trading Deadline is July 31. Historically speaking, this is the time of year when teams who have fallen out of contention try to “sell off” their big contract veterans by trading them to contenders. An especially interesting wrinkle is the caveat that most shrewd baseball General Managers try to exchange well-paid veterans on expiring contracts for minimum salary blue chip prospect...

california lottery
PHILADELPHIA — In the movie “The Matrix”, Morpheus makes a proposition to Neo, giving him a choice between the red pill and the blue pill. If he took the blue pill, Neo's life would return to normal. If he chose the red pill, he would see “how deep the rabbit hole goes.” The blue pill represents blissful ignorance, while the red pill represe...

To the fans in my section chanting “Let's go Clifford,” remember, his name is Clifton!
Less than a month ago, some Phillies fans started to question the Cliff Lee signing. After an abysmal performance against the Nationals where Lee allowed six earned runs over 5.1 innings, his ERA sat at 3.94.
Clifton's been nothing short of sensational since.
Over his last three starts, Lee's ...

Let’s review some facts. 65 games into the season (97 remaining) and the Phillies are 39-26 (best record in baseball). Philadelphia holds a 2-game lead over Atlanta, 6 over Florida and remains the prohibitive favorite to win the National League East. Ergo, if the focus is detracted from trying to beat their divisional rivals, the Phillies brass should start to do what they have done very wel...

It has become as familiar as the swallows return to Capistrano or the cicada which chirp toward the dog days of July and August. Usually by Memorial Day, the separation between contender teams and pretender teams has been meted out by record, standings, payroll, box office gate and contract structure (in that order).
MLB teams with terrible records and high-priced players are desperate to swing...